Current Legal News

Stay current with legal news in Tennessee. This page features the latest news for and about the Tennessee legal community, either produced by the Tennessee Bar Association or collected from news sources.

Annual contest challenged students to propose legislative responses to issues affecting their communities

NASHVILLE, May 15, 2014 — Middle and high school students from across Tennessee were challenged to produce three-minute videos addressing the statement “There ought to be a law…” The contest asked students to identify an issue affecting their communities and either propose a new law or suggest taking one off the books to address the situation.

A House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has approved $350 million for the agency in fiscal year 2015. Of that amount, $319.6 million is for basic field programs, while the rest funds technology grants and student loan repayment assistance for legal aid lawyers. The subcommittee funding represents an increase of $50 million over what it approved last year, though it is short of the $430 million requested by the president.

Nashville lawyer Bill Ramsey will host his annual birthday bash honoring the music and legacy of Otha Turner on June 7 from 2 to 9 p.m. The event will feature live music from Blue Mother Tupelo and Stacey Mitchhart among others. A $30 donation at the door will go to support the work of Second Harvest Food Bank. Ramsey is a member with the firm of Neal & Harwell.

The University of Memphis has named Melanie Stovall Murry as its new counsel, the Memphis Business Journal reports. She replaces Sheri Lipman, who has been named a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Murry joined the university in 2002, serving as associate and assistant counsel, as well as an adjunct faculty member for the doctoral program in higher education administration. She also serves as an instructor at the Tennessee Institute for Pre-Law.

Incoming Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond announced a number of initiatives this week geared toward "moving the department into the 21st century," WBIR 10 News reports. Hammond also appointed long-time chief of magistrates Richard Major to serve as his top aide. Hammond, who won last Tuesday's Republican primary, does not face opposition in August. He will take over the office on Sept. 2. Among the changes Hammond plans to implement are creating a usable website, cross-training employees and creating written procedures for the department. Current clerk Joy McCroskey, in office since 2008, opted not to seek re-election after revelations that lack of training and oversight in the office led to wrongful arrests and dismissal of cases.

New Tennessee CASA Director Lynne Farrar shared some of the group’s most notable achievements and honored Rutherford County CASA Director Susan Maguigan during CASA's recent state conference. Maguigan is the group's longest-serving director, with 17 years now behind her. Attendees also learned about a new resource called KidCentral TN, a website that provides information about adolescent health, development and education. Nashville lawyer Kevin Balkwill is the current president of the CASA board.

Former Memphis Judge Joe Brown, who is running for Shelby County District Attorney General, failed to file a campaign finance report on time, WMC Action News 5 reports. The document, a preprimary financial disclosure form, was to be submitted by April 29. As of last week, Brown had not filed the form, according to Drew Rawlins with the Tennessee Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance. After being contacted by the station, Brown said he had taken care of the filing.

Deborah R. Smith (“Plaintiff”) sued John P. Stanley and Dinah Stanley (“Defendants”) with regard to injuries Plaintiff suffered when she fell down stairs while visiting a cabin (“the Cabin”) owned by Defendants. Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. After a hearing, the Circuit Court for Sevier County (“the Trial Court”) granted Defendants summary judgment after finding and holding that Defendants owed no duty to Plaintiff. Plaintiff appeals the grant of summary judgment. We find and hold, as did the Trial Court, that there are no genuine disputed issues of material fact, and that Defendants have shown that Plaintiff cannot establish an essential element of her claim, specifically duty. We, therefore, affirm the grant of summary judgment.

Plaintiff filed suit after she allegedly sustained injuries in an automobile accident. A jury trial was held, and at the close of Plaintiff’s proof, a verdict was directed in Plaintiff’s favor as to the liability of Defendant. However, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiff for zero dollars. Plaintiff filed a motion for additur or a new trial, which the trial court denied. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

An editorial from the Jackson Sun denounces Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey’s plan to raise money to influence the Aug. 7 retention election of three Supreme Court Justices. “An independent judicial system is critical to law and order in our state and in our nation,” the newspaper writes. “We all have seen the consequences of radical political agendas, which can be illogical and even destructive. We love a good political fight, but the courts are not the place to have one. Ramsey is wrong to use politics and big money to oust state judges for political reasons and gain.”

About half of the more than $80 million that has already been spent on political campaign advertising is targeted specifically at women, Nashville Public Radio reports. Both Republicans and Democrats are implementing new techniques to reach women voters, such as appealing to emotions; aiming for tough, but not harsh attack ads; using endorsements by candidates’ wives, mothers and daughters; and using female candidates in macho, attack formats. In a follow-up piece, NPR further discusses how political ad-makers use Internet and television to collect information on women in order to personalize their advertising approach.

Hamilton County Commission members are expected to approve next Wednesday a new credit card system for accepting payments at the Criminal Court clerk's office, the Chattanoogan reports. Officials said the LexisNexis VitalChk Network will allow offices the flexibility to accept credit card payments either in person, over the phone or online. The service will be provided at no cost to Hamilton County as all fees will be absorbed by the credit card holder.

Donna Orr Hargrove announced her candidacy for re-election for public defender of the 17th Judicial District, which covers Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall and Moore counties. Hargrove has served as public defender for 16 years and was an assistant PD for five years prior, the Elk Valley Times reports.

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP will host the 7th Annual Criminal Justice Seminar Saturday at the Chattanooga-Choo-Choo. According to officials, the seminar will focus on balancing the scales of justice through rehabilitation, reentry and redemption especially for non-violent offenders who compose the mass majority of individuals currently incarcerated or that are on parole and probation. The Chattanoogan has more.

Senior Judge Paul Summers ruled today that Islamic Center of Murfreesboro (ICM) attorney John Green can continue to represent the congregation in a lawsuit about the ICM cemetery. Plaintiffs’ attorney Duncan Cates Cave had objected to Green being involved because the ICM attorney had spoken like a witness before the Rutherford County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) during a public hearing when the BZA approved the cemetery in a 3-2 vote Jan. 8. The judge said he will return to court on June 19 to rule on whether to dismiss the case or schedule a trial that would start about a month later, the Daily News Journal reports.

Knox County Commissioner Richard Briggs has nearly $158,000 in campaign funds to take on state Sen. Stacey Campfield in the Aug. 7 Republican primary, and he has more fundraisers planned in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. Knoxnews reports that in the latest financial disclosures filed in April, Briggs said he raised $13,100 and spent $12,183. He entered the reporting period with $156,543. Campfield raised no money during the period since the legislature was in session. He entered the reporting period with $23,202 and spent $370. Mike Alford, who entered the 7th Senate District race on the last day possible, did not file a report. Knoxnews has more.

The Tennessee Bar Association today announced plans to assist in ensuring that the 2014 judicial elections help to maintain a fair, impartial and accountable judiciary, and honor the dignity of the courts while allowing a vigorous debate. Strict neutrality in judicial elections will remain a hallmark of the TBA. Those plans reviewed and reaffirmed by the TBA at its April meeting include:

The poll will be conducted using SurveyMonkey polling software. Each member will be given a unique, identifying address to vote. Those members who have not provided the TBA with an email address will be mailed a letter with the information enclosed to vote by electronic means. Those with email addresses will receive an email on or about May 28. Members will be asked to state whether they would highly recommend, recommend, not recommend or express no opinion at this time as to the three members of the Tennessee Supreme Court standing for retention election on the Aug. 7 ballot. Poll results will be reported in mid-June. The policy on unjust criticism was adopted in 1997 as a result of a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Judicial Elections.

Timothy Lee Easter of Williamson County, James Winn Milam of Robertson County and Roger Eric Neil of Montgomery County have been selected as the top candidates to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals. The Governors Commission on Judicial Appointments interviewed all nine of the candiates for the post today in Nashville before deciding on the three who will go to Gov. Haslam for consideration. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more.

Student lender Sallie Mae has agreed to pay $60 million to resolve allegations that it charged military service members excessive interest rates on their student loans, the Justice Department announced today. Federal officials estimate that roughly 60,000 service members will be eligible for compensation as part of the settlement. An independent administrator will be assigned to distribute the reimbursements. As part of the deal, Sallie Mae also will ask the three major credit bureaus to delete negative credit histories resulting from the overcharges, WRCB News 3 reports.

Former “American Idol” entertainer Clay Aiken has been declared the winner of the hotly contested Democratic primary race for the 2nd Congressional District in North Carolina. Second-place finisher Keith Crisco died yesterday. His campaign manager, Christine Botta, says Crisco had decided just before he died to concede to Aiken, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.